LabBook August 1, 2014

Hematopathologist Jason Cheng, MD, at the microscope, presents a case during a lymphoma conference at Bernard Mitchell Hospital Wednesday, July 9, 2014, on the University of Chicago campus. (Robert Kozloff/The University of Chicago)

This week’s rundown of recent research publications of note from University of Chicago scientists and physicians:

From the abstract: “Medical practitioners such as physicians are continuously exposed to the suffering and the distress of patients. Understanding the way pain perception relates to empathetic dispositions and professional quality of life can contribute to the development of strategies aimed at protecting health professionals from burnout and compassion fatigue. In the present study we investigate the way individual dispositions relate to behavioral measures of pain sensitivity, empathy, and professional quality of life.”

From the abstract: “Treatment for prostate cancer (PCa) has evolved significantly over the last decade. PCa is the most prevalent non-skin cancer and the second leading cause of cancer death in men, and it has an increased incidence and prevalence in older men. As a result, physicians and patients are faced with the challenge of identifying optimal treatment strategies for localized, biochemical recurrent, and advanced PCa in the older population … Providing clinicians with the requisite health status data on which to base treatment decisions would help ensure that older patients with PCa receive optimal therapy if it will benefit them and/or active surveillance or best supportive care if it will not. We provide a review of the existing evidence to date on the management of PCa in the older population.”

From the abstract: “The prevalence of diabetes increases with age, driven in part by an absolute increase in incidence among adults aged 65 years and older. Individuals with diabetes are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease, and age strongly predicts cardiovascular complications. Inflammation and oxidative stress appear to play some role in the mechanisms underlying aging, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other complications of diabetes. However, the mechanisms underlying the age-associated increase in risk for diabetes and diabetes-related cardiovascular disease remain poorly understood. Moreover, because of the heterogeneity of the older population, a lack of understanding of the biology of aging, and inadequate study of the effects of treatments on traditional complications and geriatric conditions associated with diabetes, no consensus exists on the optimal interventions for older diabetic adults. The Association of Specialty Professors, along with the National Institute on Aging, the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the American Diabetes Association, held a workshop, summarized in this Perspective, to discuss current knowledge regarding diabetes and cardiovascular disease in older adults, identify gaps, and propose questions to guide future research.”